Public Services Commission acts to preserve Consumers Energy green energy plan
Electrical grid operator Midcontinent Independent System Operator warned that Michigan and the Midwest could face a shortfall in power generation this summer.
In response, it raised transmission rates for the next 12 months to encourage less use and construction of more generation.
Consumers Energy, the state's largest power company, plans to convert to green energy came into question. Consumers provides power to most of Branch, Hillsdale, and St. Joseph counties.
On Thursday, Michigan Public Service Commission issued two decisions affecting future power and the renewable energy program. MPSC found that "all but one of Michigan's electric load-serving entities either owns or has contractual rights for sufficient capacity to meet its obligations four years from now, as required by Michigan law."
The commission wants to hear all possible options to ensure sufficient resources to meet Michigan's energy needs as the electric system continues to evolve.
The alternative electric supplier, Spartan Renewable Energy Inc., did not demonstrate sufficient capacity to meet its customer's capacity needs in the 2025-2026 planning year. The company provides solar and green power to Wolverine Coop customers in lower Michigan.
The Public Service Commission also approved a plan from Consumers Energy for its conversion to green energy.
A significant part of the agreement is the closure of three units at the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in Ottawa County's Port Sheldon Township in 2025.
"This results in a reduction in environmental pollutants as the company works to retire coal and replace it with cleaner natural gas and renewable energy resources," MPSC staff reported.
Consumers Energy also will purchase the Covert Generating Station, a natural gas-fired power plant in Van Buren County in 2023. This will add 1,114 zonal resource credits to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's Zone 7 from PJM grid operator interconnection, which serves parts of southwest Michigan.
Consumers will not retire the D.E. Karn Generating Complex's units 3 and 4, which run on natural gas and fuel oil. Instead, the two units would continue operating through May 2031.
Consumers also promised to bring thousands of new megawatts of solar energy capacity online in the next several years as part of the company's plans to add about 8,000 MW of solar generation by 2040. By that year, Consumers pledges to be carbon-neutral.
Consumers will also speed up energy storage resource deployment from 2030 to 2024, aiming for 75 MW of storage by 2027 and 550 MW by 2040.
The company will conduct two solicitations for 700 zonal resource credits of capacity from power purchase agreements with terms up to 10 years.
The company also will receive consideration of the impact on costs and rates.
"The settlement agreement with Consumers Energy is a significant step forward in Michigan's fight against the climate crisis", said Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Clean Energy Advocate at Natural Resources Defense Council. . It ensures that the utility retires its last coal plant, the J.H. Campbell Plant, no later than 2025 while abandoning efforts to acquire gas plants owned by its parent company, CMS Energy."
"Consumers Energy will add significant amounts of clean energy resources like 8,000 megawatts of solar by 2040 and battery storage to its generation mix. These significant wins, fought for by the community, are a step in the right direction to get Michigan on track to meet its carbon reduction goals and improve air quality," Slaughter said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Public Services Commission preserve Consumers Energy green energy plan
